At Death´s Door
by Nemati
Summary: Harry’s dying, over and over and over again, in the most horrific, weird, nauseating, humorous, gruesome and angsty ways that my twisted mind can come up with. Enjoy! :::Evil Grin::: Separate warnings and ratings. KILLER EASTER EGGS! is up!
1. List of Contents and part 1: The Veil

_Disclaimer:_ Anything you don't recognize is mine, the rest is probably J.K. Rowling's

_Summary:_ Harry's dying, over and over and over again. In the most horrific, weird, nauseating, humorous, gruesome and angsty ways that my twisted mind can come up with. Enjoy! :::Evil Grin::: Separate warnings and ratings for each story.

_A/N:_ This collection of dark death stories will contain all kinds of things, anything my sick mind can come up with. So just a little warning, this is not a parody or humour story, there will be some very dark chapters, although they will all have their own warning so you can decide for yourself what chapters to read.

Please do not copy or steal any of these scenes/stories, if you want to use one, ask nicely and if I don't have any plans for it, I might let you have it. Although you will have to let me read the story first and proof that you are a good enough writer to my taste. And yes, I know I'm a bit harsh, but those are the rules.

_Since I can't upload a separate list of contents I added it to my first chapter._  No chapters without a story contents, so the first part is below the list.

At Death's Door

List of contents:

Title                                                          Rating           Warnings

Part 1: The Veil                                         PG 13            Angst

Part 2: The Merpeople                              R                   Sexual scenes

Part 3: Hagrid (Christmas style)               PG 13            Gore and my weird humour

Part 4: Remus                                           R                   GORE

Part 5: Silver (Semi-sequel to Remus)       R                   Very dark, much angst, some gore 

Part 6: Hermione's bookcase                    PG 13            Weirder than weird and gore

Part 7: The Dursleys (Happy New Year)    R                   Abuse, gore and weird customs

Part 8: From the Cradle to the Grave       PG 13            Child abuse

Part 9: Skin Demon                                   R                   GORE! Strong stomach needed.

Part 10: My Will Be Done                          PG13             Angst, OotP spoilers

Part 11: The Astronomy Tower                 PG 13            Angst and some gore

             A.k.a. Ron the Idiot.

Part 12: My Snake Ate My Homework       PG 13            Weird

Part 13: Friday the 13th                           PG 13            Weird superstitions and a tiny bit of gore.

Part 14: Gruesome Valentine                    R                   Gore, Torture and mentions of rape

Part 15: Imperio!                                       R                   Extreme gore

Part 16: The Easter Egg Hunt                    PG 13            Killer eggs, corny jokes and of course some gore

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*++*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

On to my first story of this collection.

_A/N:_ This is short story, because this was just a test run, the others will be longer, I promise.****

Part 1: The veil

Rated: PG13

Warning: Angst

Here he was.

After al these years he was back. Back at the ministry.

It brought back some very painful memories. He squeezed his eyes shut to stop the tears, but he couldn't stop the flashes of the past.

What the fuck was he doing here, he should never have come!

But Remus had asked him to and hadn't been able to say no. 

Sometimes in his dreams, he still saw Sirius fall through the veil. The veil he was now standing in front of.

Where was Remus anyway? They had only been here for about fifteen minutes. Harry looked around, avoiding looking at the small gate, but the man who had become somewhat of a friend to him was nowhere to be seen.

It must've been too much for him to bear, to be at the place where.... Harry took a deep breath, he couldn't leave just yet.

He had come here with the plan to say goodbye one last time, to maybe finally come to peace with what happened. 

Who the hell was he kidding? It had been his fault and he would never come to peace with that. 

His eyes fell on the veil again.

It looked deceptively calm, like curtains in a slight breeze. He closed his eyes again and like he was standing now, he could hear the voices he had heard when he was fifteen. Whispers in the breeze.

Were his parents behind there? Were Ron and Hermione? Dumbledore? And....Sirius? If he listened very hard he could just pretend he could hear them talking, laughing....

As his hand reached just beyond the veil, he felt a pull. Everything that he missed was behind this thin curtain, he could hear them clearly now, calling out to him. Smiling one last time he let himself be pulled in. 

And with the feeling of being ripped apart into millions of tiny pieces, Harry Potter was no more.

End.

Pretty short, I know, but other parts will be longer. Please review, I love those and they don't have to take long.


	2. The Merpeople

_Disclaimer:_ Anything you don't recognize is mine, the rest is probably J.K. Rowling's 

_Summary:_ Harry's going to die. How you ask me? Anyway he can! A collection of Dark Death stories in which Death is finally getting even and you'll find out that there are many gruesome ways to die if you're Harry Potter. Not even his luck can save him this time.

_A/N:_ If anyone has any requests for a death scene, either for this story or your own, just send me an email and I'll see what I can do.

By the way, have you seen the teaser for the 'Prisoner of Azkaban' yet? I have, about 6 times now, because the music in it is bloody wicked and you actually get to see Snape in Neville's grandmother's clothes. If this is just the teaser, I wonder what the real trailers will be like, let alone the whole movie. I can't wait till the 4th of June.

You can find it at the official HP site, where you can also be sorted. I, of course, am a Slytherin, just like with every other online sorting hat I've tried. 

At Death's Door 

Part 2: The Merpeople

Rated: R

Warnings: sexual scenes

As always he had come to the lake for his rare moments of peace. 

Everyone was always checking up on him, never leaving him alone. 'Harry are you alright?', 'Harry why don't you eat some more', 'Harry, you don't look so good'. He could almost hear their nagging voices even now and he was really getting sick of it. He was _this_ close to snapping and just yelling out all of his frustrations at them.

They meant well, of course, but that didn't mean it wasn't bloody annoying. He could take care of himself. After all, he had done so for almost his entire life now. But noooo, they just had to baby him and treat him like he couldn't even tie his own shoes.

Harry sighed and let himself fall onto the small sandy beach. It was a nice day to be outside, the sun was shining, there was a nice cooling breeze and there weren't too many clouds. As he lay there in the full sun it was actually getting a bit hot. Even if he was only wearing shorts and a t-shirt.

Maybe he could go for a swim, it was the end of the summer after all and the water shouldn't be too cold. The Grindylows might be a problem.... Well only if he didn't take his wand with him.

He decided to risk it, it was getting too hot to be outside, but he didn't feel like going inside the cooler castle either. Too many people there wanting to stick their noses in his business. 

After stripping down to his boxers, he made his way to the waterline and stuck his foot in. It was still pretty cold, but it was better than this heat. Too bad he didn't have any Gillyweed, then the cold wouldn't bother him and he would be free to explore the underwater world of the Hogwarts lake, it was bound to be interesting. But it wasn't meant to be, at least not today. 

A bubble charm then maybe, then he would be able to breath down there. Nah, he didn't really feel like it today, he would just go for a short swim and head back inside, before everyone started worrying again.

He took a few more steps into the cool water and dived, only coming up for air a long way farther from the shore. Aahh, much better, he breathed, and started swimming further into the lake. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

He had been swimming for what must've been more than an hour. The sun was already beginning to set, so he turned around and started his way back, feeling sated, thoroughly exhausted and much calmer. He would be able to face his 'stalkers' now, without blowing up at them.

Just as he turned he could feel a slight current forming, but except for the fact that it would just a little bit harder to swim back, he didn't think much of it, at least not until he felt something brush against his leg.

Immediately pulling his wand out of his waistband, he stopped swimming and started looking for what ever he had felt, while treading to stay afloat.

It could be a Grindylow, maybe even the giant squid. In any case, he wasn't taking any chances. He held his wand high, ready to hex the first thing that he saw moving, but nothing came past him again. It must've been some weeds or something. He released the breath he didn't know he had been holding and continued his swim back to shore.

A few seconds later he felt it again, a slippery something gliding along his leg. He could feel a slight panic starting to rise now, he couldn't see anything, but he sure as hell felt it.

Suddenly something broke through the surface of the water. He barely stopped himself from using his wand before recognition hit him. 

A mermaid, or at least he thought it was a female, if the shape of her thin face was anything to go by.

Although he didn't know very much about the species, he did know that they weren't dangerous to humans. Not unless asked to guard the thing most precious to you anyway. 

He sighed in relieve and stared at her in curiosity, the same way she was looking at him with her light yellow eyes, which seemed even brighter because of her dark bluish grey skin. Her long dark green hair was plastered to her face and back, intertwining with the ropes of pebbles she was wearing around her neck. Even though she didn't look remotely human, Harry did consider her somewhat pretty, in a fishy sort of way.

After a few minutes, the mermaid dived down again, letting her large silver scaled tail rise above the water and splash Harry with a wave of lake water. Coughing he put his wand back in his shorts and looked around a bit to see if he could spot her again, but there was no sign of her. 

Suddenly he felt it again, something smooth touching his legs, his thighs.... His breath hitched when the touch went by some very sensitive places and continued past his shorts and up his abdomen and chest. Just then the surface of the water broke with force and the mermaid reappeared right in front of him, rising high above the water due to her speed and flashing him with a view of bare greyish breasts.

As she settled, with only her shoulders above the water, she smiled at him, showing a mouth full of sharp yellow teeth. Harry smiled back a bit forcefully and turned to continue his way to shore, he was getting really tired and he didn't have time now to satisfy his curiosity. Maybe he'd come back another time....

Just as he turned, he again felt something slithering along his calves. It couldn't be the mermaid, she was still in front of him, only an arms length away. So it must be another one of the Merpeople, maybe she went to get her friends when she had dived under earlier.

He tried to gently swim away from the searching hands, but they followed right along with him, sliding over his butt and lower back. A few touches later, the hands stopped and looking over his shoulder he saw another mermaid rising out of the water. Harry was getting really uncomfortable now, there was a mermaid floating both in front and behind him, looking at him in an indefinable way and he was very conscious of the fact that he was on their turf, so to speak. He would never be able to out swim them.

Looking back and forth, he wondered what they wanted from him, but, he realised, what if they were just curious. After all, they probably didn't get this close to humans every day, if ever. He hoped the two would leave soon, the later he came back to the castle, they more his friends would nag. Well, they would nag anyway, so why should he hurry? Relaxing a bit, he continued treading to stay afloat, waiting till they were done looking at him and left him alone. 

A few seconds later another head appeared above water and as it started talking to the other two. He recognized the screeching sounds from the second task in his fourth year and wondered what they were saying. If they had been under water he would have been able to understand them. 

Harry noticed that this one had a slightly different facial structure with broader a jaw. He figured this one was a male, although it was hard to tell, since he had exactly the same long green hair as the other two and was also wearing the pebble necklaces. He couldn't really guess their age, but all three were probably only a little younger than him if he judged by human standards. 

He watched calmly as one of girls gave an answer and the boy dived under again. Both the girl returned to their examination of him, but suddenly it became very clear they weren't interested in looking alone. The two of them swam closer and started touching him again, smoothing their hands over his chest and back. Harry didn't dare move, in fear that he would provoke or anger them. They were so close now that he wouldn't be able to get away without some force anyway. 

Their skin, which he discovered was made out of tiny grey blue scales, felt slippery and smooth on his own. Only when they stroked in a different direction could he feel the roughness of the tough scales. It felt nice and if he hadn't been trapped, he would probably have found it relaxing.

His breath quickened as their hands started going lower and he could feel their breasts pressing against him. Oh god, this was turning him on, he could already feel his blood starting to gather in a beginning erection. He thought about struggling, but that might anger them and as long as he was in the water, that would probably be a very bad idea. Besides, he was enjoying himself immensely and even if they had no idea what they were doing to him, he could always jerk off later to this memory.

His thoughts stopped and his eyes fell closed as the two mermaids came even closer, putting their heads on his shoulders, moulding their bodies into him, pressing their nipples in his flesh and letting their hands wander over his legs and sides. He could feel their tails swishing past his feet now and he couldn't help but wonder how long this heaven would last.

Only what Harry didn't notice in his mind blowing state was that first, he had stopped treading his feet and was letting the girls keep him above water, and second, that at that exact moment his wand was calmly floating away on the currents, discarded by the mermaid behind him.

After a few more minutes of touching he was panting in ecstasy and any rational thoughts were quick to disappear. As the girl in front of him pulled away a little, he opened his eyes a little to see if she would leave, but instead of backing away she levelled her head with his and gently pressed her lips against his. Harry was a little surprised at this, whatever they were doing to him, he hadn't expected them to be so similar to humans that they would actually kiss for pleasure, after all they weren't even mammals. 

But when a few seconds later she still hadn't moved her lips, he figured she indeed didn't know what it was and must've just spotted some teenagers on the shore, snogging. He couldn't help but smile when he realised she was just doing it to please him. She pulled back and stared at him with her non blinking yellow eyes and smiled back as she proceeded to lay her head back on his shoulder. 

Their tails rubbing against him in a most stimulating way, their hands gliding over him, their lips on his neck, biting softly on his ears with razor sharp teeth. He moaned, he didn't want them to stop now, no not at all. He had started rubbing himself gently against the girl in front of him, while the other one pressed against his backside just a little bit harder, making sure they didn't loose any contact. Just a little bit longer...

Suddenly his air was gone.

It took him a few precious seconds to realise that the two mermaids had pulled him under the surface. They hadn't let go of him, but used their tails to guide the three of them deeper and deeper into the dark, cold water.

This time Harry did struggle, pleasure forgotten. Reaching for his waist, he immediately felt that his wand was no longer there.

He waved his arms around in blind panic, trying to get the two girls of off him, but they didn't let go. On the contrary, they held him tight and continued their examination of his body. The only difference was that he could now hear the sounds they were making and disturbingly enough it sounded a lot like giggling. 

His movements became weaker as he ran out of oxygen and a few seconds later he blew out the last air in his lungs, feeling water taking it's place. 

He felt eerily calm as his eyes became unfocused and his body stopped trying to break free. Reaching for the faint rays of the sun filtering through the water one last time, he stopped moving. 

Harry Potter was no more.

And as the young merchildren left their now unmoving toy and went in search of something else to amuse themselves with, Harry floated away. His bloated body wasn't found until late that night, lying next to his clothes, washed up on the peaceful beach. 

End 

Please tell me what you think.


	3. Hagrid, Christmas Style

_Disclaimer:_ Anything you don't recognize is mine, the rest is probably J.K. Rowling's 

_Summary:_ Harry's going to die. How you ask me? Anyway he can! A collection of Dark Death stories in which Death is finally getting even and you'll find out that there are many gruesome ways to die if you're Harry Potter. Not even his luck can save him this time. 

_A/N:_ Especially written for Christmas. Short but sweet (Sweet, yeah right, when hell freezes over and pigs fly....). Enjoy.

At Death's Door 

Part 3: Hagrid (Christmas style)

Rated: PG13

Warnings: Gore and my weird humour

Finally it was the holidays they had been waiting for.

It was Christmas.

The students, with a few exceptions, had gone home and the entire castle was being decorated. Dumbledore was spelling the ceiling to snow, Flitwick and some students were decorating the trees that Hagrid was bringing in from the forbidden forest, McGonagall was hanging mistletoe over the entrance to the great hall and even Snape had an festive plaque on his chamber door. It read 'Keep Out or Die', but still, it was coloured Christmas green and after all, it's the thought that counts. 

In the midst of all this busy cheer three six year students were running around, helping where they could or just joking around. The Gryffindor trio had stayed this year for the always magnificent Hogwarts Christmas and were enjoying their holiday to the fullest. Even Hermione had given her quill a rest.

Because of the threat of war almost all of the Hogwarts population had gone home, but Ron and Hermione had chosen to stay with Harry, even when their families had asked them not to. Harry of course had no choice, or not a very good one anyway. It was either Hogwarts or the Dursleys and lets just say he didn't need to think about it for very long.

So now the three were making their way outside, completely packed in sweaters, robes and cloaks. It was time for war, a different kind of war that was hanging over their heads, but a war still. 

It was time for a snowball war and may the best wizard or witch win.

Two hours later they were tired and soaked to the bone, but happier than they had been in a long time. They didn't have many chances anymore to be so carefree. Especially Harry, who was expected by everyone to save the world. But right now all he thought about was how he beat both his friends by hitting them with his magically made snowballs a lot more times then they hit him. Of course that was until they started working together and dunked him face down in the snow.

After dumping their wet cloaks and robes in their dorms, they made their way to the great hall for the fantastic annual Hogwarts Christmas feast. They were gonna stuff their faces until they could pass for turkeys themselves. 

"Watch out, comin' through. Man with a tree walkin' here." They immediately recognized the booming voice as Hagrid's and jumped out of the way, pressing against the railing of the staircases. Everyone knew that the half-giant hardly looked where he was going when he was carrying those enormous trees inside and so everyone knew to get out of the way as fast as possible if you didn't want to get skewered or simply squished into a wall.

Just as Hagrid past them, barely keeping his balance due to the enormous tree slung over his shoulder, he spotted them and turned to greet them.

Unfortunately Harry didn't get to hear the greeting, because Harry had jumped to the other side of the stairs, across from his friends. And at the exact moment Hagrid had turned to say a hullo to Ron and Hermione, Harry was hit by the enormous top of the tree, being impaled by thousands of gigantic needles and forcefully thrown over the railing.

With one last scream, Harry hit the ground six floors below, breaking every bone in his body and splattering blood all over the witnesses to the horrific accident. Before even one healing spell could be uttered, he pushed out his last breath. 

Harry Potter was no more. 

And only one thought rang through the Wizarding World. 

_Shit, who's gonna kill the dark lord now?_

End.

Have a very gory Christmas and an angsty New Year. (Fanfiction wise, of course)

Nemati 


	4. Remus

_Disclaimer:_ Anything you don't recognize is mine, the rest is probably J.K. Rowling's 

_Summary:_ Harry's going to die. How you ask me? Anyway he can! A collection of Dark Death stories in which Death is finally getting even and you'll find out that there are many gruesome ways to die if you're Harry Potter. Not even his luck can save him this time.

_A/N:_ I was going to write 'Neville' first, but Sammy Potter, my first reviewer, wanted gore. So you'll get Gore. This one's for you Sammy! And yes, you were right. The last chapter was a bit choppy, but it I just couldn't find anything to change, so I guess it was just meant to be that way.

By the way, if anyone has any requests of how or by who's hand Harry must die next, please tell me and I'll see if I can fulfil your wish. I need a little help in deciding with who or what to continue. I just have too many ideas.

At Death's Door 

Part 4: Remus

Rated: R

Warnings: Gore (You asked for it and this time I mean business)

His breath was coming out in short gasps, his sides felt like there were knifes stabbed into them, his head was throbbing, all the while he was dodging branches and jumping over large tree roots he couldn't even see. But even though the night was pitch black, he ran faster than he had ever run in his whole life, faster even than when Dudley had been chasing him as a child. 

How the hell did he get in this mess? Oh yes, the dare. 

"Ugh, dammit." Harry cursed at the stone he had just tripped over, ripping his clothes even more than they already were. Immediately jumping up again and ignoring his bleeding knee, he continued running for his life. Stumbling a few more times, but not falling again.

A few minutes later he had to stop, he couldn't take another step. Panting, itching, aching, bleeding, hurting, suffering. But he had to keep going, he couldn't stop now. It wasn't even close to daybreak. 

Sunrise, he had to keep going until sunrise. Then he'd be safe, then he could stop. Taking another deep breath, almost chocking on his air, he started running again, immediately picking up speed when he heard the sounds of branches braking and paws running behind him. 

The complete panic that had taken him over when the chase had begun, had changed into a drive to survive, but his adrenalin was starting to run low and his stamina was all but gone.

Fear.

Pure, undiluted, overwhelming fear was what kept him going now. Made him ignore the pain in his lungs, his legs. Made him ignore the dawning realisation that he wasn't going to make it.

Light!

He could see something in front of him, almost entirely hidden by the trees. He changed directions and headed towards what might just be his salvation. But as he entered the clearing, because that was all it was, a small breakage of the trees and ground covered with ferns, he saw that he had only seen a sparkle of moonlight shining through the thinner lair of leaves, seemingly brighter because he had been in the pure dark for so long.

Despair wrung through him and he stopped running. He was lost, he had no idea which way Hogwarts and safety was and as he looked at the full moon, he knew it would be hours before it set and the sun would rise.

Suddenly leafs rustled behind him, a branch snapped. Harry swirled around. He could hear deep breathing coming from the trees in front of him.

It was close now. He could see shadows flitting through the trees. He tried to follow it with his eyes and ears, turning ever which way he thought it to be. His breathing sounded harsh in the silence and he tried to quiet it in fear of not being able to hear the creature approach. 

He was completely tense and alert, totally aware of his body. The pain hit him in full force now and left him gasping for air in spite of his efforts to calm down his aching lungs. Any second now.... The beast would attack him and he would be ready when it did. It was circling him, searching its prey for a weakness.

And then Harry saw it. A dark snout, two bright yellow eyes watching his every move. It moved even closer, showing it's enormous heaving body.

And both knew the hunt was over.

It pounced.

Harry didn't stand a chance.

Before he could even raise his arms in defence the wolf was on him and all he could do was cry out. If you had listened closely you might just have been able to make out the words, although they were distorted by the gurgle of Harry chocking on his own blood. "REMUS, NOOOOOOOooooooo......"

And then the only sound disturbing the silence of the dark forest was that of a werewolf ripping and eating it's quarry. Both hunter and prey glinted red in the full moon light and even though the smell of blood filled the forest, no other predator dared come close, even Aragog's children. All creatures of the forest kept far away, knowing that the most powerful of them all had caught its meal.

Harry Potter was no more and the only remains were a bloody corpse, forcefully torn apart, and some loose parts spread across the clearing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remus woke up as usual after a full moon. Naked, cold and exhausted. He curled himself into a ball and tried to sleep a little longer. He couldn't, it was just too cold, too cold to be inside the shrieking shack. And that smell, that taste... All his instincts where going off like sirens and his eyes shot open.

Blood.

He smelled blood, human blood. Not like other times when he lived in the woods and in the morning he discovered he had killed and devoured some deer or rabbit, no, human blood.

He immediately sat up, although it was with some difficulty, and spit out blood and saliva, but the taste remained. Feeling nauseous, he nervously turned his gaze to his blood soaked hands, he couldn't even make himself look around for a body. This had never happened before, how could it have now, what was he going to do, oh god he might have killed some one, oh sweet Merlin.... Taking a deep breath he tried to calm himself down a bit, but the heavy coppery smell of blood was overwhelming. 

As he looked at the rest of his own body, he saw why. He was painted red and brown, completely covered in dried and still dripping blood, both his own and that of someone else.

Then a thought hit him, the one he had attacked might still be alive, he had to start searching fast, before it was to late. Ignoring his protesting muscles and his nakedness, he pushed himself up and started looking around the forest for any signs.

The body was easily found. All he had to do was follow a short trail of blood and dark red paw prints. After only a few minutes of stumbling along in shock, he found his victim. He didn't recognize him at first, but as he came closer his denial was ruthlessly ripped away. The dark messy hair, the silver ring on the hand he came across a few meters away from the body and, as the last blow, the scar, strangely visible on the forehead. 

Oh Merlin.... No air... His longs weren't working, his heart was beating too loud, his whole body was shaking.

"HARRY! NO! No no no no no no no no no no no no...." 

He stumbled to the body, or what was left of it, and chased away some ravens that had already started feasting on the bloody remains. Suddenly he found his legs couldn't support him anymore and he let himself drop to his knees. Remus cradled his best friend's son against his own already bloody body, ignoring the squish of entrails against his chest. Rocking back and forth, back and forth, the tears streaming over his face unnoticed.

Harry Potter was no more and that it was all his fault, all his fault, all his fault....

He didn't let the body go when Dumbledore found him some hours later, not until the headmaster forced him to with a spell. Minerva lead him back to Hogwarts, guiding him silently and all the while there was only one thought going through his head.... 

I killed Harry, it was all my fault, all my fault, my fault, I'm a murderer, I killed him, I killed Harry, murderer....

He didn't struggle when the aurors came to take him away.

End 

You'll find out what Harry's dare was in the next chapter called 'Silver', it will be one of the few parts that might be seen as a sequel.

Please tell me what you think in a short review (or not so short, it's up to you).


	5. Silver

_Disclaimer:_ well I think that says enough 

_Summary:_ Harry's going to die. How you ask me? Anyway he can! A collection of Dark Death stories in which Death is finally getting even and you'll find out that there are many gruesome ways to die if you're Harry Potter. Not even his luck can save him this time.

_A/N:_ Dedicated to my second reviewer Blackenedsoul, who loves sick and twisted stories just as much as I do.

IMPORTANT!!! This is a semi sequel to 'Remus', but just so you know, this story doesn't mean Harry was any less dead in the last part. This is just another twist on the idea and the only difference is that Harry isn't dead. Well, not yet anyway.

At Death's Door 

Part 5: Silver

Rated: R

Warnings: OotP spoilers, very dark, much angst, some gore and all the usual.

He had been awake for a few hours now and Dumbledore had already been by the hospital wing to tell him what had happened. He was alone now, leaning back against a pillow, half lying in bed, trying to keep his breathing normal and thinking about what he had been told.

Apparently he had been in a healing coma for a week after being attacked by a werewolf. He remembered only a little of the chase. He remembered the fear, the panic racing through his mind and the last things, before he drew a blank, were two bright yellow eyes and then pain. He must've past out after that.

Madam Pomfrey had informed him that it had been touch and go. He had nearly been ripped to pieces and she even had to reattach his hand. He could move it okay now, it just stung a little.

Of course the fact that he was alive meant.... it meant.... he was a werewolf now too. He would go through the painful transformation every full moon, he would be a danger to everyone around him and there was nothing he could do about it. Snape may be able to brew the wolfsbane potion for him while he was in school, but after that....

Those thoughts lead him straight to the one thing he didn't want to think about, the last thing the headmaster had told him.

Remus hadn't been able to get the wolfsbane potion that disastrous night, because Snape had been away, probably for something to do with his spying, and since the shrieking shack was too close to collapsing to hold a grown werewolf nowadays, Remus had taken his refuge in the forbidden forest. 

It had been Remus who had attacked him, but that hadn't been the news that had shocked Harry to the core, because he had already known. He had recognized the wolf, even in the moonlight. No, the thing that Harry couldn't think about was much, much worse.

The aurors had come for Remus the day after the attack and since werewolves weren't considered human by law, there hadn't even been a trial. Dumbledore had been proven powerless in this matter and Remus had been executed a few hours after his arrest. It had been a beheading by a silver axe, especially made for werewolf executions.

Harry felt numb now, in too much mental pain to feel. First when he had been told, he had been too weak to let it sink in. He had been drifting in and out of consciousness, but now.... now that he was fully awake.... The news had hit him like a train wreck. He couldn't eat, he couldn't sleep, hell he couldn't even breath or think.

His last link to his parents, the last of the marauders (Wormtail didn't count), the last person, well grownup anyway, who cared for Harry, not Potter or the-boy-who-lived, but Harry, was gone, dead. And it was his fault.

If he hadn't taken that stupid dare from Ron, Remus would be alive now. 

Ron had promised him he'd arrange a date with Cho for him if only he would get some ingredients for a potion Hermione had wanted to make. Of course Ron was too scared of the giant spiders to go himself, but the redhead had still wanted to impress the studious girl he liked so much and Harry had been fine with it. Anything to get those two together and to get them to stop arguing all the time. Of course, he wouldn't say no to a date with Cho either.

He grabbed his head with both hands and brought his knees to his chest, trying to get the tiniest bit of comfort out of this, but it didn't work. The thoughts and feelings were too overwhelming. 

He had done it again.

After swearing to himself he wouldn't be reckless, that he wouldn't endanger anyone ever again, that he would let something like what happened with Sirius repeat itself. He had done it again and the guilt was eating him alive.

He felt something bubbling inside of him, like a volcano waiting to erupt. He was fighting so hard to keep it under control. It was one of the scariest feelings he had ever encountered. He was very familiar with fear, anger, grief, guilt and the list went on, but this was too big, too much to handle, he had to keep it inside with all his might. He could hear footsteps and immediately his entire body tensed, he didn't want to talk now.

"Mister Potter, your friends are here to see you." With dry eyes Harry looked up at the nurse as she said this and saw Ron and Hermione standing behind her. As he looked at the two of them, both with red rimmed eyes he distantly noticed Pomfrey walking back to her office.

Hermione, of course, was the first to act, she swung her arms around him for a hug, but he immediately shrugged her off. He couldn't stand any pity now, or any physical contact. She drew back, looking hurt, but didn't step away.

"Oh Harry, are you alright." She asked, looking at him with worried eyes.

And that was it, the dam broke and the volcano erupted. He grinned.

"Alright? Am I alright?" He whispered. The feeling of hysterics was crawling through his entire body and clamped over his heart. He could hardly breath. Harry clapped his hands over his mouth, but it was no use, he couldn't stop it. 

He started laughing

The emotions were too much, they had to come out somehow. The tears of loss, fear, pain and just overwhelming feelings streamed over his cheeks and he was laughing. He was laughing so hard he couldn't speak, he couldn't breath, he could only laugh and cry. It was the strangest sensation to do both at the same time.

"STOP IT, Harry please stop it." Ron yelled at him, but this only made it worse. Soon the laughing changed into screaming. He threw his head back, slamming it against the wall, and screamed his lungs out, his hands pulling at his hair.

A few seconds later there was a mediwitch at his bedside, pouring a calming draught down his throat and he swallowed it quickly. Finally he calmed down some and he could breath normally again. When he looked around he saw that his friends had left. Who could blame them?

"Try to get some sleep dear." Harry just nodded at the nurse and pulled the blankest over him while lying down. He was calmer because of the potion, but now the thoughts that had plagued him before returned in full force.

Remus was death and it was his fault. No comfort in knowing that he couldn't have done anything, like with his parents and Cedric. No, it was Sirius all over again. Why did he cause so many people so much pain?

He couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't wake up knowing he had caused so much death. He hadn't done anything to himself after Sirius died because of the prophecy. But now he knew, he couldn't save anyone, let alone the whole world, he only brought about suffering and pain. What if next time it was Hermione or Ron, he couldn't live with that.

Listening to Pomfrey working in her office, Harry knew the coast was clear. He silently slipped out of bed and headed for one of the cabinets. If his wand hadn't been taken from him he would've conjured one, but since it was he would just have to make due with what was at hand. After searching through drawers and cupboards he finally found what he had been looking for. 

A silver knife.

"Perfect." He breathed. Silver was very toxic for werewolves, this nightmare would be over soon. The relief that this thought brought him was almost as scary as the thought itself, but the peace this would bring him in the end was too tempting.

Sitting on his bed, with his back to the doors, he pressed he sharp edge of the knife into his left wrist. He ignored the pain, he ignored the blood and cut deeper. The blood was flowing freely now, covering his arm and pyjamas in glinting red. The pain was excruciating, his breath was coming out in small gasps, but the calming draft was still active and he slid the knife further.

He could already feel the burning of the silver starting and through the blood he could see the edges of the cut starting to turn blue. Quickly, before the pain would become too much he switched hands and, with much difficulty, he slid his other wrist. 

Even through his dizziness, which was becoming worse by the second, he could feel the burning travel up his arms and spread over his entire body.

Suddenly an alarm sounded through the room and madam Pomfrey came running towards him. Just as she reached him he let himself drop backwards, not having the strength to stay seated any longer.

The last thing he saw was the shocked nurse trying to heal his cuts, but he knew that even if she succeeded, the silver would make sure he wouldn't wake up again. 

And with a smile on his face, Harry Potter was no more.

End

Please tell me what you think and who or what killing Harry you want me to continue with.


	6. Hermione´s Bookcase

_Disclaimer:_ Anything you don't recognize is mine, the rest is probably J.K. Rowling's 

_Summary:_ Harry's going to die. How you ask me? Anyway he can! A collection of Dark Death stories in which Death is finally getting even and you'll find out that there are many gruesome ways to die if you're Harry Potter. Not even his luck can save him this time. 

_A/N:_ first a thank you to Schnuff and Skull Bearer for reviewing and giving me some extra ideas. I've put them on my list with all the others. The only thing now is to decide which one to do first, but don't worry, I'll choose.

This one's for you Schnuff, because I just couldn't stop laughing when I read this idea in your review (and the hours after that, the next day while writing this and every time I thought about it really). _'While visiting Hermione he's killed by an bookshelf'. _Alright then, you asked for it....

At Death's Door 

Part 6: Hermione's bookcase

Rated: 

Warnings: Weirder than weird and written while the author couldn't stop laughing at the idea herself.

Harry was in a very good mood.

Mostly because today was the fifth anniversary of the day he defeated Voldemort and the whole wizarding world was celebrating, but he had a lot of other things to be happy about too. He had a fantastic job as first-string seeker for England's national team, he had just bought a new apartment and now he was on his way to his girlfriend's house. They were having a private dinner to commemorate this day. Thanks to his fame they couldn't go out to eat anyway, at least not today.

True, today was a day to be happy, but there had been so many deaths on this same day five years ago. This was the day Ron had sacrificed himself to save Hermione, the day when Snape had been tortured to death for his betrayal, when Voldemort killed Dumbledore right in front of him, the day hundreds of people died for freedom. 

But now was not the time to be sad. Both him and Hermione had mourned for a very long time and they had found a way to go on with their lives, they had found each other.

He smiled as he thought about his beautiful girlfriend of three years now. She had gone off to Wizarding College for her charms masters degree, but had come back as both a charms and a potions mistress. Apparently she had gotten bored. 

Still with a broad smile on his face Harry thought about what he was going to do that evening. He was going to ask her to spend her life with him. He was going to ask Mione to marry him and he just couldn't wipe the stupid grin of his face. He was already getting weird looks from people on the street, but he didn't care. 

After the short walk he reached her front door and he pulled out his keys, opened the door and went inside. "Mione, I'm home." He said loudly so she heard him in the kitchen, where he knew her to be because of the sounds and smells coming from in there.

"Hey love, how was it?" She asked him, sticking her head around the corner of the open kitchen door. Harry couldn't help but smile, he was still thinking about his plans for that evening. Hell, he couldn't think about anything else.

"It was fine. It was a nice ceremony, beautiful building and I was able to avoid most of the reporters." He had been asked to be at the opening of the new children's hospital for accidental magic accidents in Hogsmead and he couldn't not go. After all he had paid for most of it and it was even named after him. The Light Lord's children's ward.

"Good to hear." And with that Hermione disappeared back into the kitchen to magic their dinner into existence.

As Harry took of his coat he noticed a new bookcase standing in the corner next to the table. It didn't have any books in it yet, but he could still detect some magic in it. "Hey Mione, where did you get the new bookcase?"

"My parents bought it for me in diagon alley." She said from the kitchen. "Nice isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess." He muttered, he wasn't such a big fan of books like his girlfriend was, but if she liked it, who was he to argue? 

Suddenly he saw something weird, something that made him rub his eyes out, but when he looked again it was gone. He could've sworn that the new piece of furniture had moved. Hadn't the shelves been arranged differently just a few seconds ago? Damn, he must've been more tired than he had thought. Just then Hermione floated the pots and pans onto the table and announced dinner to be ready. 

He kept shooting glances at the new bookcase all through dinner, but the wooden monstrosity, as he had started calling it in his thoughts, didn't move again. He really didn't know why he disliked the thing so much. Moody's training must've made him more paranoid than he had thought. 

Shaking his head slightly he focused back on his, hopefully, soon to be fiancé. She had just come out of the kitchen with desert and was placing it on the table. If he was going to pop the question it was going to be now. He waited until she was seated again, all the while fingering the little box in his pocket and trying very hard not to show his nerves.

Just as she was dividing the pudding, he stood up, walked in front of the bookcase, which still gave him the creeps, to her chair and got down on his knee. 

Hermione was watching him in near panic, her hands covering her mouth. She had even dropped the knife, splattering the table with chocolate. And all she could mutter was a soft "Oh Harry." 

"Hermione, would you do me the honour of being my wife?" He asked with a surprising steady voice and held up the open box with a beautiful ring in it, the large diamond sparkling in the candlelight. 

Suddenly, before she could answer, there came a horrible creaking sound from behind Harry. Seeing the horrified look on Mione's face he quickly turned around, just in time to see a flash of sharp, pointy teeth in between the empty shelves of the new bookcase. 

Before either of them could do anything, the ugly piece of furniture had sprung forward, swallowed Harry's head and bit down hard. With a nauseating crunch his neck was crushed and the rest of his body fell limply to the ground, spraying his would-be fiancé with his blood. 

During this Hermione had fallen backwards in her chair, screaming, and was now searching for her wand inside her bloodied robes. But the wooden killer wasn't finished yet and in two more loud crunching bites Harry Potter was no more. 

Now the only thing disturbing Hermione's screaming was a loud belch coming from the satisfied killer bookcase, before her 'incendio' ended its horrific existence.

##############################

On the funeral.

"Hey mom." Hermione whispered through her tears. "Where did you get that bookcase anyway?" 

"You mean that thing we bought for you last week?" At her daughters nod she continued. "In some quaint little street near Diagon alley. What was it called again...? Oh yes, Knockturn alley."

End

Jeez I almost made myself sick with that sweet sappy beginning, I hope I made up for it with the rest.

Hope you liked it and if you did (or didn't), please tell me.


	7. The Dursleys, Happy New Year

_Disclaimer:_ I think J.K. Rowling owns the bunch, but I could be wrong of course..... :p..... Yeah right. 

_Summary:_ Harry's going to die. How you ask me? Anyway he can! A collection of Dark Death stories in which Death is finally getting even and you'll find out that there are many gruesome ways to die if you're Harry Potter. Not even his luck can save him this time.

_A/N:_ A wonderful 2004 everyone!!

There is a custom in some parts in the Netherlands on which this fic is based. Namely the burning of the Christmas tree on New Years Eve. Now, I don't know if they do that in England, I didn't think so, but lets ignore that for now, shall we.

At Death's Door 

Part 7: The Dursleys (Happy New Year)

Rated: R

Warnings: Abuse, some gore and weird customs.

As always, the Dursley family had a wonderful Christmas holiday. Dudley had come home for the two weeks and the three of them had a magnificent Christmas dinner together. And now, a few days later, they were a few hours away from the New Year.

There was only one thing different this year, one thing that hadn't happened for five Christmases now. The freak had come back from that school of his.

Harry was having the worst Christmas holiday in his life, well maybe not his life, but at least the last five years. Because of the strengthening of the wards at Hogwarts no student had been able to stay these two weeks. He had begged and pleaded with Dumbledore to not send him back to the Dursleys, but the old headmaster hadn't wanted to make an exception for him.

To say that his _'family'_ had not been happy with his surprise return was putting it mildly. The first thing Vernon had done was throw his trunk in the shed, harshly search him for any magical objects on his person and manhandle him into his old cupboard under the stairs. They hadn't let him out since and because his uncle had taken his wand, he couldn't even open the locks to get some help.

So here he was, ignored, forgotten and back in his cupboard, which of course seemed much smaller than when he had been ten. The small cot, which had served as his bed for almost his entire childhood, had still been there and there was now a bucket in the corner for him to relieve himself in. Strangely enough they hadn't even let him out to clean the damn thing, no Petunia had done it herself. Apparently they were so scared of him they didn't even open the door to feed him, or to give him some water. 

Harry didn't know how long he had been there, but at least it couldn't be longer than two weeks, otherwise people would come looking for him. He had stopped trying to count the days after Christmas, which he had only recognized from the smells and sounds from the living room, because after that he started feeling too sick and weak from the lack of nourishment and could've easily slept through a few days. 

It wasn't until new years eve that he knew what day it was, but this time it wasn't because of the smells and sounds. No this time he knew because a drunken Vernon threw open the door and shouted _'Happy new year'_ at him.

Suddenly a fist came flying at him and struck his cheekbone. Harry felt rather than heard the loud crack and cried out in pain. He held his hand against the side of his face and tried to scuttle backwards, away from the red-faced brute, but of course there wasn't any room to do so. Laughing his uncle grabbed his neck and pulled him out of the darkness, where the young wizard had spend most of life, and slammed him against a wall. Harry could barely even lift his arms, let alone struggle usefully, so he let his limbs hang loose and waited for what was to come. 

In his mind Harry was cursing his own weakness, the Dursleys had followed a successful strategy this time. Because of the starving, isolation and constant dark, he was neither in the mental nor physical state to defend himself. He couldn't even raise the energy to get angry enough for wandless magic, like in the summer before his third year.

"Boy, we decided to make a fresh start for this year and guess what, you're going to be a big part of it."

Harry drew in a shaky breath as the hand around his throat became a little less constricting, which was a good thing because there were already black spots dancing in front of his eyes. But just as his thoughts were becoming a little less foggy, he was grabbed by his hair and painfully dragged outside through the living room, the kitchen and the backdoor. He tried to grab his uncle's hand to make it let go, but it was of no use.

Once in the backyard, which was surrounded by large hedges to shield it from prying eyes, Harry noticed that his aunt and cousin seemed busy carrying stuff outside from the shed and were piling it up. Vernon dragged him closer and let him go, knowing Harry wouldn't able to get away anyway in the state he was in. 

When he looked closer to the stuff they were putting on the heap, Harry started to recognize things in between the pieces of his wooden trunk. His schoolbooks, the photo album of his parents, his robes and even his wand, but he didn't make a noise until he saw Hedwig lying on the bottom, half covered by his invisibility cloak. Immediately pain shot through his abdomen and then his back from the kicks he received from his uncle. The basterd didn't even bother telling him to be quiet, after all the neighbourhood kids were already setting off loud firecrackers and nobody would be able to hear him cry out anyway.

Watching his relatives pile up everything he owned, Harry couldn't stop a few tears from falling. Lying there helpless, a cold fear grabbed his heart. What were they doing? But a part of him already knew, they were going to burn all his stuff and make him watch. He wouldn't put it beneath them, after all they had already killed his beloved owl.

"Good, all done, just one more thing missing." Harry heard his uncle say, but it was getting harder to understand the words, because the cold and the pain were making him woozy. "Dudley go get the tree." His uncle ordered and at the sounds of the kitchen door slamming shut, Harry realized they were really doing this. Everything he had left from his parents, all his birthday and Christmas presents from his friends, they were going to burn it all and he would be forced to watch. 

An enormous grief and anger was growing inside of him, but he was getting more and more tired with the minute, he vaguely realised that it had to be the cold. It was freezing after all and he was lying in his flimsy old shirt in a thin lair of snow. 

Suddenly he was jerked fully awake as Vernon grabbed his hair again and pulled him up. When it became clear that Harry couldn't stand on his own, the fat asshole grabbed his arms in a bruising grip to keep him from falling.

Harry looked up to see the pile of wood and beloved items, topped with the nearly needle less tree, which was standing upright on the wooden cross nailed to its trunk. As his Uncle dragged him closer an awful smell hit him and Harry knew it had be gasoline.

Now Harry expected his uncle to stop walking, keep him standing and force him to watch it all burn. What he didn't expect was for Vernon to go all the way to the pile, force him on top of it while it creaked dangerously as if almost collapsing and tie him to the tree with thick ropes.

Now panic was starting to set in, not that his weak limbs were of any help to break free, but he started screaming as loud as he could, which wasn't very loud since his throat felt like sand, hoping against hope that anyone would hear him. Unfortunately for him the Dursleys had everything planned perfectly. Exactly at the moment Harry started yelling, the clock stroke twelve and Dudley set of his thousand banger fireworks.

And as the neighbours wished each other a happy new year and started with their own fireworks, a small, green eyed, black haired boy was being sprayed with champagne by his laughing relatives and set on fire with all of belongings. 

His tortures screams weren't heard over all the noise and the smell of burned flesh never alarmed anyone. Thus Harry went into the New Year in flames and his cries died only with the ending of the fireworks. 

Harry Potter was no more and all that remained were ashes, scattered by the wind, bones, buried beneath the hedges, and a bright red phoenix feather, never to be found.

End

Well? Tell me what you think please, I'm dying for some feedback.


	8. From the Cradle to the Grave

_Disclaimer:_ Anything you don't recognize is mine, the rest is probably J.K. Rowling's 

_A/N:_ To Vash and Maria, who especially liked 'Remus' and 'Silver'.

Two ideas in one story, both based on the same cliché, with a dark twist of course. 

Cliché: A potions accident changes Harry into a baby/child. At Death's Door 

Part 8: From the Cradle to the Grave

Rated: PG 13

Warnings: Child abuse

  

1. 

"Neville NOOOOO!!!" Harry shouted and made a lunge for the larger boy to try and stop him from adding the mouse toenails to their potion too soon, but it was already too late and with loud BANG the cauldron exploded, throwing Harry against the wall, covered in the failed potion.

The first thing Neville checked was, not Harry, who wasn't moving, but Snape and as he looked at the potions master he almost whimpered. Snape looked furious. 

"One hundred points from Gryffindor!! Longbottom, get this mess cleaned up. Miss Granger, escort mister Potter to the infirmary. The rest of you finish and bottle your potions." He actually growled before making his way to the victim of the latest potion disaster and checking on the boy-who-lived, who wasn't looking very lively at the moment.

Right when Snape and Hermione reached the apparently unconscious boy completely covered in the red potion, his eyes snapped open and he inhaled sharply, immediately breaking into a coughing fit.

"Po...." Snape started, but he was interrupted by a loud scream, Harry's scream.

The boy was writhing on the ground, his arms hitting against everything around him and the screaming made it very clear he was in a lot of pain.

Snape sprang forward and grabbed his suffering student, trying to stop the seizure or at least make sure he didn't hurt himself while flaying his limbs around.

Just as the professor was about to let Harry go when it seemed the seizure had ended, he noticed something changing under his hands. His eyes sought out the boy's face and he noticed that indeed something was changing, but he didn't really see what exactly was different yet. At least not until he felt the gryffindor beneath him shrinking. 

Harry's head was becoming smaller and his body was hidden away by his now much too large robes.

A few seconds later all that was left of him was a screaming baby. Snape couldn't do anything but watch as the infant shrank further into a foetus, before dissolving into nothing.

And with a shrill scream from Hermione, Harry Potter was no more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2. 

He was ready to scream.

He had already been snapping, shouting and yelling, now he just wanted to scream.

This child was absolutely impossible. Nothing he did could calm it down, nothing. He was sure of that, he had tried everything, even a stunning spell, but noooooo, the boy-who-lived just had to special again and had woken up a few minutes later. It went the same with his sleeping draughts.

Why the hell did he have to take care of the brat, it wasn't his fault that this had happened. Yes, he had threatened Potter into taking his own potion and yes, he had known the potion had failed, but if the annoying pest had just followed the book nothing like this would have happened.

Severus Snape, potions master and professor at Hogwarts was now stuck taking care of a four year old Harry Potter until he could find the cure, as if he could work in these conditions. The horror of a child wouldn't sit still for a second, it kept running around and had already broken several priceless artefacts in his quarters and ruined his most difficult research in his lab.

To say that he was frustrated would be a joke, murderous would be much closer to the truth. He wasn't a babysitter, he'd been, and in some way still was, a deatheater. He had killed people in cold blood for being less annoying than this. 

"I've had enough." He hissed at Harry, who just looked at him with big startled, green eyes.

He grabbed the boy roughly, ignoring the cries and whimpering, and dragged it into the bedroom. Throwing the brat on the bed, he grabbed a pillow and pushed it down forcefully on the small face, cutting off the supply of air. He almost let out a sigh of relief at the silence.

Of course the child under him panicked, its small limbs hitting him without any real force and a minute later they stopped moving altogether. At last, the brat would be unconscious for at least a little while and he would finally be able to search for a solution in his books. Snape pulled the pillow off the unmoving boy and threw it next to the bed. Without checking Harry's breathing he left the room and went to work in his finally peaceful lab.

Without really intending it, he had cut of the oxygen too long and Harry potter was no more, having suffocated under the hands of his potions master. 

When Snape came back a few hours later to check on the boy, he only found the corpse of a sixteen year old, nothing he could do was able bring it back to life and all he could think was...

_Shit, Albus is going to kill me, or worse.... fire me._

End.

Well.... what do you think?  Please tell me a review.


	9. Skin Demon

_Disclaimer: _It's Rowling's, but you know that, and I don't own Buffy either.__

_A/N:_ For Prd2bAmerican18, who agrees with me that I have a very twisted mind. Thanks for noticing. And for Seta Keade, who I helped with her summary for her wonderful and interesting story 'The Silver Trio'.

Ah, finally inspiration, thanks to an episode of Buffy the vampire slayer. Normally I like to be as original as possible, even with cliché's, but this time I just couldn't help myself. I promise, if you like gore, you will love this.

At Death's Door 

Part 9: Skin Demon

Rated: R

Warnings: GORE! Strong stomach needed and I mean really strong, seeing as even I got queasy visualizing it while writing this.

_"All alone...."_ The haunting voice seemed to come from all around him, it was high pitched and the taunting singsong sentences were extremely unnerving. _"Poor little lam, lost his flock....."_ It was echoing through the dungeon, making it impossible to tell where it came from.

"Who's there? Show yourself!!" Harry was starting to panic. His breathing was fast, he could feel his heart pounding in his ears and his eyes were shooting every which way, trying to find the threat in the complete dark of the stone hallway.

_"All alone.... No one will find you here...."_

It was coming from his right.... No behind him.... Damn he didn't know which way to run.

His wand had been flung away when the one that was haunting him brushed past him a few minutes ago and with it his lumos spell. He didn't dare go on his knees to find it, he would be even more vulnerable than he already was.

_"Are you scared little boy?.... You should be...."_

Oh god, oh god, oh god.... Dammit get a grip Potter, it's probably just a Slytherin playing a prank. At least that was what he tried to tell himself, but somehow it wasn't working. After all, this part of the dungeons was most likely unknown to even the most adventurous Slytherin.

_"You can't run...."_

So what the fuck was he doing here? He couldn't answer that question at that moment, his blood was pounding too loudly and his body seemed to be on sensory overload, even a breath of wind was enough to startle him. The fact that he couldn't see anything made this even worse, his heightened hearing making his own breathing sound alarmingly loud.

_"You can't hide...."_

"What do you want with me?!!" He shouted, his voice sounding much shriller than he had hoped.

_"Oh...."_

Suddenly something brushed by him again, but this time it was accompanied by a sharp pain in his abdomen, making him stumble back. Gasping for air he placed his hands where something had cut him. He could feel the torn skin and the flowing wetness which he knew to be blood even if he couldn't see it.

_"So much skin....."_

The mind consuming pain was burning and stinging and he could barely stay standing. His hands were desperately trying to stop the bleeding, but the liquid kept on seeping through his fingers, soaking his clothes, making them feel heavier.

_"All alone.... No one to hear you scream.... Not that you'll be able to...."_ It tauntingly sang the last part.

Suddenly he really started to feel heavier, his legs wouldn't hold him and he slumped against the cold stones of a dungeon wall, slowly sinking to the ground. He tried to get up, but he couldn't. He was paralysed. The wound must have been poisoned. Besides not being able to move, nothing had changed, he was still completely lucid.

_"No one will come for you.... Left you all alone...."_

He could hear shuffling footsteps coming closer and a heart squeezing fear clamped up his chest. The next thing he knew a pair of hands, or more like claws as he could feel nails cutting in his skin, had grabbed his ankles and was dragging him away from the wall. After his head had painfully banged on the floor the hands took him a little further, but then stopped and let go.

_"So much blood...."_

Harry couldn't breath, he had never been this helpless, this vulnerable before. He could feel the creature, since he very much doubted that it was human, crawling past his feet, past his legs and the suddenly straddling his thighs. He still couldn't see anything and the darkness was closing in on him.

_"Hungry...."_

Tears of fear and frustration were forming in his eyes and he couldn't even blink them away. Even when he felt what could only be a mouth and tongue on the cuts on his belly, he couldn't fight, all that happened was a large intake of breath and a small whimper at the stinging pain as the creature licked up his blood.

_"Mmmm.... You taste good little lam...." _

Next he felt something sharp press against his skin close to the wounds he already had. The tears in his robes and shirt were ripped further and then the cutting began.

_"Drawing pretty pictures on your pretty skin...."_

Harry felt a sharp claw sever his skin and a long straight line and again close next to it. The monster was taking its sweet time to make him bleed. The stinging, nauseating pain remained as it removed its claws, but then it got even worse.

Harry could actually feel a nail stabbing in the wound, pulling on the skin and tearing a strip of his stomach. Through his pain induced haze he could hear slurping and chewing.

It was eating his skin, strip by strip.

Then the mouth was back to lick up the freshly flowing blood.

_"All alone.... No one will look for you.... No one will find you...."_

Mumbling because he couldn't move his lips he tried to disagree, but stopped immediately as it started cutting another strip out of him.

_"Ssshhhh.... No one can hear you here...."_

Again it slowly ripped the strip off his flesh and ate it, nearly humming with delight and again it bend down to catch the little rivers of blood flowing over his sides and hips. It even slurped the little pool out of his bellybutton.

Slowly, strip by strip, drink by drink, it did its work on Harry. 

Even if he couldn't move he felt every cut, every lick, every tear and maybe even worse, he heard everything it was saying. No one would find him, no one would help him. _He was all alone._

After hours of sickening and excruciating slow torture, while it first skinned his stomach, then his arms, feet, legs...., Harry finally became dizzy from the blood loss and a little while later he fell into blessed unconsciousness.

Skinned alive, Harry Potter was no more and he had died _all alone._

The next day the professors located him with a tracking spell, but all they found was a skinless corpse with the eyes sucked out of their sockets, the now visible muscles glinting in the wandlight and, strangely enough, no puddle of blood.

Not even the strongest stomach could hold it together at this horrific sight.

_"All alone...."_

End.

Please tell me what you think, even just a short note will do. I need to know if people are actually reading this.


	10. My Will Be Done

_Disclaimer:_ Not mine 

_A/N:_ These chapter might be coming a little slower in the future, because I'm working on a four part semi-sequel thing for this fic, but I don't want to post it until all four are finished. Next to that, I have started with my novel length fic **_Rifts_**and I might start another one soon, but I'm not sure yet. Either way, I won't stop writing chapters for this fic that I can upload immediately, so don't worry.

This one is pretty short again, but otherwise it would get boring and I don't do boring. 

At Death's Door 

Part 10: My Will Be Done

Rated: PG 13

Warning: Angst, OotP spoilers

I can't take this anymore. The stares, the gaping at my scar, the admiration for something that wasn't even done by myself, but by my mother, the accusations, the articles in the papers.... Everything.

I'm just an ordinary kid with infinitesimal amounts of both good and bad luck. Bad luck to have problems and evil wizards hunt and haunt me, and good luck to always get away from them in the nick of time.

The only problem with that is that, although my bad luck pulls everyone else with it, my good luck works only for me and because of that sometimes others don't come back alive when I do. After all, my good luck didn't save my parents, Cedric, Sirius....

I won't cry now, much too public place, it would probably even end up in the newspapers again. _Boy-who-lived depressed, cause unknown_. I can just visualize those headlines, and people's reactions to them.

I shudder at the thought of getting even more attention, especially like that.

Even Ron and Hermione are acting different, mostly because I told them about the prophecy, to kill or be killed. I think Hermione is just in shock, she'll probably come around if I give her a little more time. But Ron.... Now he's a whole different story. I think he hates the fact that everything always somehow revolves around me just as much as I do, and that's saying a lot.

I'm considering what's worse, everyone thinking I'm insane or everyone thinking I will save them all, which is exactly what most people do think ever since Fudge admitted five months ago that Voldemort was back.

And all it took was for Sirius to....

People actually come up to me and congratulate me on his defeat. I can't even grief for him, at least not in public, because I should be happy he's death. I can't be sad, because of what other people think of me, and I can't be mad, for exactly the same reason.

I can't be me.

I have to play the happy little Gryffindor, the happy little saviour, and all I want is to disappear, for people to leave me be. But I know that would never happen. I won't get any peace until the day I die.

I don't eat in the great hall anymore because of the stares, I take my invisibility cloak and go to the kitchens. I don't sit in the common room anymore, I now stay and make homework in the library, most of the time under that same cloak.

I've tried my hardest to disappear, but nothing works. If nothing else, it only makes it worse. Now people stare even more at me when they actually _do_ see me, or maybe that's just my imagination.

I've started to distance myself from the others, which isn't very hard right now considering there was already a gap between us due to what happened last year and the prophecy on top of that. The distance makes is so much easier to go my own way, to do my own thing. Mostly meaning I avoid and ignore everyone as much as I possibly can.

The teachers don't interfere... yet. They know I just need some time, or at least I think that's what Dumbledore told them, that I need time. But time won't make Sirius come back, time won't make the staring and the attention stop.

I want to disappear.

My invisibility cloak helps, if only a little because I always have to take it off again.

I really just want to disappear.

I won't kill myself.

That would be like just handing the victory over to Voldemort and nothing's worth that, not even my fondest wish.

My wish to dissolve, go up in smoke, shatter.... Disappear.

As I walk towards the Gryffindor table in the great hall to make at least one appearance today, I can feel the looks. A heaviness falls on me and it becomes harder to breath. Of course I never respond to these feelings of panic, but the urge to sink through the floor becomes a thousand times stronger.

I don't want to be here, I don't want to be anywhere at all.

I just want to disappear.

At that exact moment I feel a strong wave of power ripple through me and then blissful nothing....

And all that the people in the great hall saw at that same moment was their saviour fading away into nothing. 

Harry Potter was no more. 

Now there was only despair.

End

Ah, four in the morning again. The things I do for my readers. :)

Review responses:

**BigGator5**, who was being a bit of a nag, but still liked the chapter. **:p**

**Who wants to know? **Thank you.

_Seta Kaede_, I already thanked you in Rifts, but once again, thank you for giving me the push to publish more of my work and thank you for the ideas, but I already have so many ideas for long fics written down and partially worked out. I think I'm going crazy. Oh wait.. I already am. :b 

And for **_Miss-Aurelia_**, who's review made me not give up on this collection because of the few reviews I've gotten and gave me some more ideas to write. And you put me on your favourite stories list, wow, Thanks! By the way, I read your bio and I'm from Holland too. Surprise!!

One last note, I love new ideas and I write them all down, but I can't promise I'll write them. Simply because I write what my muses tell me to at a certain moment so I myself am never sure what I'll write next. Keep 'm coming though, I have years to go before I sleep.

Please tell me what you think and what you prefer, horror, humour, angst etc, the more reviews I get, the more I write. 

It's not bribing, only the simple truth.


	11. The Astronomy Tower aka Ron the Idiot

_Disclaimer:_ Never mine 

_A/N:_ Ah, I know you would like another horror story, but this one was in the way.

For Miss-Aurelia. I started writing this the minute I read her review for _Core Of Power_ requesting I updated _At Death's Door_. So here you go, enjoy.

At Death's Door 

Part 11: The Astronomy Tower a.k.a. Ron the Idiot.

Rated: PG 13

Warning: Angst and some gore

"Harry please, you need to go to class. You can't go on like this."

No answer.

"Will you just get out of bed already."

Still no answer.

"Jeez, it's been two months. You hardly eat, you almost never sleep. It's time to move on."

Silence.

"She wouldn't have wanted this." Ron was getting desperate.

"You don't know that, she's death." 

"Finally, it speaks." The redhead grabbed Harry's arm and tried to get the much smaller boy to get up. Their other dorm mates had left for breakfast already and he was hungry. 

"Get'off me!" Harry ripped his arm free and turned away from his friend.

"Harry get up now! I'm not gonna let you take another friend away from me." Immediately Ron realised what he had said and made to apologize. That was until he saw that Harry had gone back to ignoring him. Knowing nothing would get through to his friend now, he left for breakfast. He decided he would ask for forgiveness after classes, after all, he had just told his best friend he was responsible for killing Hermione. 

After Ron had left, Harry turned back, lying once again on his back, and stared at the canopy of his bed.  He knew Ron would be back at lunchtime to try and convince him to eat something, but he wasn't hungry, he was never hungry. Of course he would sometimes eat something to kept the others happy, but not very often. 

He knew Ron hadn't really meant what he had said, that he was just frustrated, but damn, it hurt and it didn't help this feeling inside him that he was right, that it was his fault. The curse had been meant for him after all, but it had missed and hit Hermione instead, leading to her very painful death.

Before that there had been Neville and his grandmother who had been killed, because they supported him, right after his fifth year ended. Then at the end of the summer right before sixth year Hermione, Justin, Dean, Lavender and Hannah had been attacked at home for being muggleborns. Despite the protection they and their families had gotten only Hermione and Hannah had escaped with their lives, but Hannah would never see again and Hermione had died two months ago. 

He had seen her off at Hogsmead station when she left to go spend Christmas with what was left of her family when deatheaters had attacked the small wizarding town. She had been so brave, defending the younger students and later himself when the attackers had focused on him. 

She had died protecting him and he had survived once more.

Tears were running down his face, making his hair stick to his ears. He always survived, even if he didn't want to. Well not anymore, no more suffering.

Now that he had finally made up his mind to go through with what he had been planning to do for a long while now, he quickly and without hesitation wrote a note to Ron and then another to Dumbledore, telling them how sorry he was and left the dorm.

While walking down the halls and climbing the up stairs he thought about the one thing that had stopped him from doing this before.

The prophecy.

But it didn't matter anymore, he couldn't safe anyone any way, he brought only death to everyone around him.

He made it. And he hadn't even run in to anyone who could have stopped him.

The astronomy tower.

The highest point of the school, the place where he would finally find freedom.

He opened the doors to the balcony where the telescopes stood and deeply inhaled the fresh cool air of morning. He walked up to the balustrade and leaned on the cold stone to look down at the school grounds.

He had always loved flying, it was the one thing that had made him feel free. Very appropriate that he should end it this way.

He stood on top of the broad stone railing in between two of the telescopes and threw his arms to the side like he was a bird ready for take off.

"Harry NOOO!!"

Ron? What was he doing here? He must have forgotten his books again and found the note early. The redhead was running towards him, but he wouldn't let anyone or anything stop him now and just before his friend reached him he smiled and let himself fall.

The feeling of freedom was incredible, even better than with a broom. He felt more than saw the spell Ron must've cast pass him by and the last thing he saw was a web of magic light up in front of him.

Ron did the only thing he could think of, he cast a levitating charm at the falling form of his best friend, but his aim was off in his panic and he missed.

It missed Harry, but it _did_ collide with the protection spells around the tower, the ones that would have caught the suicidal teenager to be precise. 

And with a flash of light the bubble charm was transformed into something else, something that it was definitely not meant to be.

A severing spell.

The one thing that would have saved the boy-who-lived changed into a large web of magic and when Harry hit that intricate work of light lines, his body was cut up in thousands of tiny bloody pieces. The entire ground was painted red and the small chunks of flesh were blown all over the school grounds.

Harry Potter was no more because of his best friend, the same friend that followed him into the next great adventure only one week later.

End Part 11.

My wonderful reviewers:

**Miss-Aurelia**: Not a cat, no please have mercy! Lol. Thanks for reviewing again and I do think they're nice ideas, especially the flobberworm, but I don't know if I'll use it. He already gets eaten thrice after all. **:) **By the way, thanks for reviewing my other story Core of Power, you were the first. I got one other story up and running if you're interested :::Hint, hint::: **:p**

**Psiana**: Thank you for reviewing, unfortunately for you I already have him falling to his death, but I might consider some trio interaction. By the way, what spelling mistakes? I can't find any and I have a very good spell check on my pc, so they can't be misspelled words, did I mix something up? It couldn't be names... I always check the books.... Argh someone kill my insecurity please....

**Englishgirl**: Thank you and I'll definitely keep that in mind. Horror, hmmm, so many possibilities.


	12. My Snake Ate My Homework

_Disclaimer:_ Still not mine 

_A/N:_ It's short, but hell, I don't even want to know where this story suddenly came from.

At Death's Door 

Part 12: My Snake Ate My Homework

Rated: PG 13

Warning: Weird

"Mr Potter, may I inquire why you have not handed in your assignment. You knew your essay about transfiguring a table into a pig was due today." Professor McGonagall said sternly, while standing in front of said student's desk.

"I know professor, and I have finished it. I just can't find it." Harry said, while searching through his bag, books and notes, getting more and more frantic with the second. "I'm certain I put it in here this morning." He muttered.

After a few moments he stopped looking for it. "I'm sorry professor, I must have forgotten to pack it."

Her lips disappeared in a thin line and she scowled at him. He may be one of her better students, but he was distracted much too quickly nowadays. "You will have to retrieve it after class, but be sure not to let this happen again Mr Potter."

"Yes Professor." He answered meekly.

As professor McGonagall turned to walk back to the front of the classroom to start her lesson, Harry searched through his bag one more time, but he couldn't find his essay anywhere. And he had been so certain to neatly fold it and put it in between his transfiguration and DADA books to keep it in tip top condition too.

Now he had to resort to drastic measures. How low can you go? He actually had to ask his snake where his homework was.

"_Guthrie, wake up._" He very softly hissed into his bag, so no one could hear him, although Ron, who was sitting next to him, threw him a strange look. The redhead didn't like Guthrie very much and so didn't know Harry brought his snake to his classes.

"_What isss it Harry_?" Came the reply and a second later a small, dark green snake stuck his head out of his bag.

Guthrie had been a gift from Remus for his birthday and although not many people were fond of the idea of him owning a snake, there had been nothing they could do about it since the headmaster had allowed it.

"_Have you seen the paper I was working on last night?_"

"_The one on which you ssspilled your drink?_"

"_You mean the one on which you ssspilled my drink. You were the one who knocked over my goblet, remember?"_

"_Ah, that one, well, uhm, you sssee..._" Harry had actually never seen a snake at a loss for words before and the befuddled look on his small serpent's head looked really weird.

"_Ssspit it out._"

"_I can't, I already digesssted it._"

"_YOU WHAT!_" 

"_I was hungry._" Guthrie defended himself.

MR POTTER, what is the meaning of this? I am trying to teach a class here and will not have you disrupt it to talk to your snake. A snake does not belong in this classroom unless we're changing it into something else and I very much doubt you would want that." Professor McGonagall almost shouted. She had been the one to object the strongest to Guthrie's presence in the school. After all, she was a Gryffindor through and through and she really didn't like the idea of a Slytherin mascot in her house.

"I'm sorry professor," He immediately changed back to English as he answered. "But well... apparently... Guthrie here... well..."

"What is it Mr Potter?" He could clearly see she was losing the little patience she had left, if he was going to say it, it had to be now.

"My snake ate my homework."

For a few seconds all was quiet, not a breath could be heard, but then the entire class burst out laughing.

But not professor McGonagall.

She was actually turning red in anger. Harry had never in all his time at Hogwarts seen her this angry, not even at Fudge after the third task, or when the aurors came for Hagrid. It was a very scary sight.

The transfiguration mistress pulled out her wand and pointed it straight at him with her hand trembling in rage.

"Never," Even her voice was wavering with held back emotions "have I ever, ever...." She seemed to be unable to find the words to express her anger. Damn, that was even more frightening than her yelling at him.

Instead of indeed yelling like he had expected, she waved her wand and muttered a spell.

At that moment she had done the exact thing that she had told the fake Moody never to do to a student, the exact thing she had never thought she would ever do herself.

She had transfigured Harry into something else.

A small rat to be precise.

The irony wouldn't have been lost on the boy if it hadn't been for the fact that he couldn't see what exactly he was for himself.

He looked up at all the enormous people and gigantic furniture in awe. He scuttled around his own bag, which had fallen on the ground, to try to get to his teacher in the hope she would have the heart to change him back.

He just forgot one thing....

Guthrie.

The snake came sliding out of the bag, hissing insults because she had landed quite hard and the DADA book, which had landed on top of him, was not one of the thinner books this year.

He immediately caught the smell and sight of the boy made rat and reacted accordingly.

Guthrie slid forward with lightning speed and a second later the rodent was eaten and swallowed by his own pet.

Harry Potter was no more. 

What a way to go.

End Part 12.

Guthrie means War Serpent in Celtic/Gaelic 

My wonderful reviewers:

**Miss-Aurelia**: You gave me a brilliant idea for a story with your review, I'll write it an other time and tell you which one it is. And yes I'm planning on poisoning him, just have to think of a plotline to put it in. :::Evil Grin::: I'm thinking, maybe I'll have him eaten one more time... hmmm, what about the giant squid.... :::Wanders off plotting Harry's demise...... again.::: **:)**

**LizzieCordano**: Thanks and it's a very good and funny idea, but I don't think I can make an whole story out of it that doesn't resemble what I've written so far, but I'll see what I can do. **:)**

**zuleika**: I'm glad you liked it and thanks for the compliment. As for your teacher...well, it's true, too much fantasy can be unhealthy, just look at Harry, my fantasy sure isn't healthy for him. **:) **Those are some great ideas, splinching is already long planned, just think.... little pieces of Harry all over England, but I don't know about electrocuting, since there isn't any electricity in Hogwarts, and as for the poisoning well, just read Miss-Aurelia's review response, apparently more people want Harry to kick the bucket that way. Now to think of what horrible things happen to him when he is poisoned.... Purple huh?

**Who wants to know?**: Thank you very much and yes I try to update as much as I can, even when I'm working on some other fics. The only thing is, I only write for this story when inspiration hits me, so sometimes there are a few chapters close together and sometimes it takes a while.****

Please review, I love reading them, that's why I put so much time in answering them.


	13. Friday the 13th

_Disclaimer:_ Guess 

_A/N: _Friday the 13th and my thirteenth chapter.... I couldn't resist.

Let the anti fluff begin. 

You'll know exactly what I mean tomorrow, because then I'll upload the Valentine special, which will be a semi-sequel to this story. Semi-sequel meaning that the story line will continue on this one, but they'll just be a little less dead. For a short while anyway.

At Death's Door 

Part 13: Friday the 13th  

Rated: PG 13

Warning: Weird superstitions. (They're described at the bottom) and a tiny bit of gore.

Today was Friday the thirteenth and it was his lucky day. Tomorrow it would be Valentines Day and he had just gotten a date for Hogsmead.

A date with Cho.

He could hardly believe it. After that disaster last year he hadn't dare dream she would ever go out with him again.

Absolutely nothing could go wrong today. ::::Jinx::::

He was walking back to the common room, thinking about his date for the next day, when suddenly he saw something running away from him.

A cat, a black cat to be precise.

He recognized it as the one belonging to Fifi, a small third year Gryffindor. It must have escaped through the portrait hole.

He ran after it to try and capture it, but she was too fast. After ten minutes of running he had finally cornered her. He bended over to pick her up when the tired pet lifted her paw and scratched his face open. He stumbled back with a howl and the cat ran off again. The blood was dripping down his cheek, but he ignored it and was just about to set after the damn cat again, when at that very second Fifi came running past and slapped him in the face, turning his unscratched cheek bright red. "How dare you scare Patricia like that, now I'll never catch her." The girl ran off again, after her cat, and left Harry standing dumbstruck in the corridor.

"Yeah, you're welcome." He muttered sarcastically and backtracked to the common room. Wiping his scratched cheek clean with his hand.

The chase had lead him to the other side of the castle, so the walk back would take him fifteen minutes at the least, but of course that was if he wasn't counting the time it took him to find a way around the stairs.

Every one of them had turned in a way that he couldn't get to the right floor. He had to turn back several times and he was really getting fed up with it. Finally he made it to the right hallway, or so he thought.

"Damn it all to hell." He swore. 

He was now in an area that he didn't know at all. He had never been here before, he had never even seen this hallway on the marauder's map before. He quickly turned back, but as he did, he saw that the corridor he had come through before was gone. The walls had to have switched again.

Taking his chances, he walked back regardless and tried one of the doors.

Locked.

He tried another one and another, but the were all locked. Since this was getting him nowhere he decided to just keep walking until he either met someone or he found himself back in familiar surroundings.

Half an hour later he was dragging his feet, but he finally saw an end to the passage. Quickening his pace, he got there after five more minutes of walking.

He tried the door and sighed in relief as it opened.

Suddenly there was a crash behind him and he swirled around, his wand in hand and ready to curse anything that could threaten him.

He almost dropped his wand as a stinging pain cut through his right hand. He put his wand away again as he saw that it had only been a mirror that had fallen of the wall on his right. It had broken and the splinters had been thrown all over the place, including through his hand.

Ignoring his bleeding hand and leaving the mirror broken on the floor, he pulled the door open further and walked through. He almost sighed again, he was back in a familiar hallway and even in Gryffindor territory.

The door closed behind him and as he looked back, he saw it had been hidden behind a portrait of a skeleton. He turned his head back quickly as it waved at him with a bony hand, rattling the knuckles together.

As he walked through the corridor, he looked out one of the windows, just in time to see a flock of crows flying past.

'Two, three, five... No, six crows. Wasn't that bad luck or something?' He thought to himself, but gave it no further thought. He had almost made it to the common room now, then he would finally be able to sit down and have a cool glass of pumpkin juice. 

Deep in thought about the strange hallway he had found, one that wasn't even on the map, he didn't notice as he walked under a ladder that was leaning against the wall.

He also didn't even notice Hagrid, who was standing on that same ladder, high above the ground. The half-giant was feeding lumps of salt to the Cornish pixies that had nested inside a hole whole in the wall.

Suddenly one of the younger blue creatures flew out and almost made Hagrid loose his balance. Luckily he was able to remain standing, but the enormous barrel of salt he had been carrying came falling down.

Straight on top of Harry's head, crushing his scull and pulverising his brain.

And with a great bang and a lot of laughing from the pixies, Harry Potter was no more.

Now that was what you would call unlucky.

A few minutes later, while Hagrid had gone to find Pomfrey and the headmaster, Ron and Cho were waiting by the body of their most unfortunate friend.

With tears streaming over his cheeks, Ron leaned over and extended his hand to close Harry's eyelids.

"No, don't touch him." Cho screeched and pulled Ron's hand away. She looked at her deceased date-to-be and burst in tears, again. She couldn't believe she had lost another one. First Cedric and now Harry. 

"But..." Ron started, but he stopped when he saw her glare.

She turned back and stared at Harry's green eyes, once bright, they were now dull with death.

Suddenly she gasped, grasped her own eyes with both hands and keeled over, lying unmoving on the floor.

Immediately Ron reached over again and closed Harry's eyes, quickly doing the same with Cho's, as she was now just as death as Harry.

At least he hadn't died alone.

End Part 13.

The superstitions came from www. Corsinet .com/ trivia (remove the spaces) and my own knowledge. **:b**

A black cat running away from you is bad luck. (Towards you is good luck.)

If a mirror in the house falls and breaks by itself, someone in the house will die soon.

A broken mirror will also bring seven years of bad luck.

When counting a flock of crows, five will mean sickness and six is for death.

Walking under a ladder is bad luck.

If a dead person's eyes are left open he will find someone to take with him. Ahhh, poor Cho. :::Giggles insanely:::

My wonderful reviewers:

**Miss-Aurelia**: I'm sorry, I really am. I probably won't let him be eaten again, but no promises. **:p **I could've had someone step on him of course.... I might do that in another fic.... Anyway... but this just fitted together so beautifully. I just found the paragraph you meant with that bone transfiguring thing. I would really love to write a story for you, but I don't know if I can get a whole story out of it, burying him alive in a coffin has so many more possibilities.... but I digress again. I don't think McGonagall is very ooc, she's just very, very angry and she thinks Harry is making a fool of her. And as for Malfoy, he's coming. I'm working on a group of either three or four semi-sequels that I won't post until they're all finished and Draco is going to be in either one or two of them. These parts are going to be much darker and angstier than most other parts, that's why the last few I posted were somewhat humorous. Jeez, these feedbacks to you are getting longer and longer.... Oh well, I always enjoy writing them, until next time.

**Who wants to know?**: I have no idea how I came up with that, sometimes I'm just reading a fic or working on some of my other stories and an idea will just pop up in my head, very scary. **:) **Well, I listened to your idea and if you're reading this, then you've just read the result. 

:::Starts crying::: Almost nobody is reviewing this story. Please help a poor girl to raise the number.


	14. Gruesome Valentine

_Disclaimer:_ Never mine 

_A/N: _A Valentine special, because all the fluff nearly made me sick. I like some romance in my story, but fluff.... ugh. I'm allergic to the stuff, so I always get itchy when Valentines Day approaches and here's the result.

Alright, the last chapter was weird, let's try something else shall we. Let's do the opposite of Valentine. 

:::Insert insane laughter here:::

_WARNING_: I hate Cho, I really, really do. The last chapter might have already hinted towards this, but I thought I'd just tell you again. Or rather, I'll show you again.

:::Insert more insane laughter here:::

At Death's Door 

Part 14: Gruesome Valentine

Rated: R

Warning: Gore, Torture, Sexual scenes and mentions of rape. (not necessarily in that order.)

Valentines day.

He used to hate this particular holiday, with all the fluffiness surrounding it, but not anymore. Not now he finally had another date with Cho.

The gorgeous girl, with her oriental looks and black long hair and beautiful dark eyes and.... He sighed. 

She had said yes when he had asked her out on another date for Valentines Day in Hogsmead and he felt like he was the luckiest man on earth.

He was standing in the front hall, waiting for her arrival, and when he finally saw her his stomach flip-flopped and the familiar butterflies were fluttering through his belly. 

He smiled at her and as she smiled back shyly, he took her arm and guided her outside.

On their way to the wizarding village they talked about little things, like school and quidditch or what they were planning to do after they had finished at Hogwarts. It was a very pleasant walk and when she took his hand in hers, he squeezed it back softly.

He felt at ease with her, not at all nervous. Maybe it was because he knew what was expected of him this time.

They spend some time looking around shops, buying candy and some other supplies, and then made their way to Madam Puddifoot's, the same little cafe that they had gone to the year before. It still had a lot of frills and bows, and even the golden cherubs hovering over the small circular tables were the same, but Cho liked it and it was kinda cute, so Harry would stand it.

They chose one of the tables by the windows and after ordering their coffees, they talked some more about their future, or more about _her_ future actually, since he didn't really have much of a choice regarding what he was going to do when his schooling was finished, but it was nice enough to hear her talk.

There were some other couples sitting at little tables, he even spotted Ginny with some blond boy all the way in the back, but he didn't recognize him. Other than that there wasn't anyone he knew and he turned back to his own date, who was smiling at him.

This time when she put her hand on the table he didn't hesitate and covered it with his own, gently caressing her skin with his thumb. He felt her shiver at the sensation and continued the motion as they drank their coffee.

After about an hour of talking and two more cups of coffee, the conversation fell silent. They just looked each other in the eyes and Harry felt like nothing on earth could be more beautiful that Cho blushing as she was doing now.

Almost without him noticing it, he leaned forward, as did she, and he lifted his hand, caressing her face softly. His whole body seemed to be on autopilot and he was tingling all over. They leaned in more and then their lips touched.

Their kiss wasn't anything like the one they had shared that Christmas more than a year ago. No, besides that it wasn't as wet, it was less awkward and hurried.

At first their lips just pressed together, sending sparks up his spine, but then he started to give little kisses all over her sweet lips, making her eyes fall closed.

He had to remember to thank Lavender for giving him those _lessons_ during the Christmas holidays.

His own eyelids shut by themselves when he felt her return the sensations by nibbling on his lower lip. Automatically his tongue came out to wet his lips, but when they came into contact with hers too, she opened them slightly, allowing him to lick the inside of her lips.

Before he knew it her own tongue was slicked against his, licking his lips, teeth and then the inside of his mouth, making him shiver in delight. As she pulled back slightly he followed her and explored the small ridges under her tongue and the smoothness of her palate, tasting the sweet coffee they had been drinking..

And then Cho moaned softly in his mouth. Oh god, that had to be the most arousing thing he had ever heard.

When they both pulled back, slightly out of breath, he looked at the gorgeous sight before him. Cho's cheeks were a rosy colour, her eyes were glazed over and her swollen lips were still slightly open.

She raised her hand to her lips and smiled widely, her cheeks flushing even darker. 

"That was... nice." He managed to get out in a husky voice. He just got another smile in return.

Having drunk their coffee and noticing that it was almost lunchtime, Harry paid the bill and led his date once again into the February cold.

Looking at her face for a reaction, he put his arm around her shoulders. She seemed a little startled, but didn't pull away, instead she put her arm around his waist in return.

Suddenly she pulled him into a small alley off to the side of the main road. Once out of sight she guided his head down with her hands and kissed him again. 

The surprise didn't last long and as he felt her fingers caressing his hair, he put his arms around her waist, pulling her against him more tightly. 

As the fierceness of the kiss increased, he pushed her against the wall behind her, claiming her mouth with vigour. She moaned his name and clenched his hair almost painfully. 

He had never felt anything like this, never had he known such a need for someone and ohhh, she was rubbing against him in such a way that just made him loose it. He moaned loudly against her neck as she sucked on his own, giving him the most wonderful hickey.

Suddenly there was a loud crash and he immediately tore away from her. There was a deafening thunder that seemed to surround them and he sprinted out of the alley, wand in hand, to search for the source of the racket.

The first thought in his mind was _deatheater attack_.

And when he reached the main Hogsmead road, with Cho running close behind him, he saw that he had been right.

The small town was in a panic, people were running all directions, children were screaming and in the middle of all this was a group of black robed wizards wearing white masks and firing spells at random people.

Harry couldn't tell precisely what spells were being used, but he saw the familiar bright green of the killing curse light up the road several times.

No window had been left whole in the entire street, bodies, either death or stunned, were scattered across the pavement and the Three Broomsticks was burning, he could hear screams coming from inside.

Not knowing what else to do, he began running once again and started shooting curses back towards the deatheaters along side with the few brave witches and wizards who had chosen to stay and fight.

He recognized some faces among the resistance as students from the DA, teachers and even some order of the phoenix members.

But it became clear very quickly that the small group of resistance was no obstacle at all to the dark wizards. The adults were the first to go in green flashes from enemy wands and soon after students were being targeted. 

Although they had managed to stun a lot of the deatheaters, their companions would immediately enervate them. Some were truly incapacitated, but too few to matter. Especially the students did not know any curses that couldn't easily be reversed.

He saw Mundungus, Remus and all the teachers fall one by one, but he kept going. Then Neville went up in flames by a powerful élan hex, Hermione was next to be hit by an avada kedavra and both Anthony and Zacharias were victims of prolonged cruciatus.

He didn't understand, where were the aurors? Where was backup, or even Dumbledore with some help?

But nothing came and soon he and Cho were the only ones left, she had been standing partially behind him and therefore protected by his shields, and apparently they didn't want him dead, yet anyway, something that was made very clear by the fact that they hadn't sent even one killing curse his way.

They didn't ask for surrender or anything like that, but just fired multiple stunning hexes and cruciatus curses at him until he could no longer hold up his shields from the excruciating pain and one of the stunners hit him.

Everything went black.

When he woke up again, the first thing he saw was Cho.

She was lying next to him, very close by and her face was turned towards his.

He could feel that his hands were tied together behind his back with a spell and his entire body hurt from being hit by multiple cruciatus curses, the most painful curse in existence. 

Ignoring the pain as much as he could he turned his attention on the girl next to him. He was about to say something to her, when he saw that her eyes were open wide, gazing into nothing. There was a trail of dried blood coming from her slack mouth, the mouth he had been kissing only a short while ago. Or at least he thought it was a short while, seeing as he was still in Hogsmead and the sun hadn't set yet.

He immediately rolled over one half turn and forced himself on his knees, before looking at his former date in shock. 

She was death. The thing he had been looking at had only been her severed head, blood slowly leaking from her neck. Her body was lying a little bit further away and he could see that her dress was bunched up around her middle and her thighs were coloured brown red. With a lot of effort he kept himself from retching and turned his head away instead.

Only to come face to mask with the group of deatheaters, all of them now laughing at him.

A second later he fell forward in overwhelming pain, landing flat on his face, making his nose start bleeding rivers of red. It seemed like hours later until they released him from the crucio, only to start again when his muscles stopped twitching so badly.

At the exact point that he could actually feel his mind slipping away from him and he would gladly have let it, the curse was stopped once again.

Still lying on his stomach, he started coughing, hacking up blood and gal, but not having the power to spit it out he started choking. It wasn't until one of the deatheaters kicked him onto his side that he could get some air into his lungs.

He didn't have the time to be glad for this small reprieve as immediately a severing charm was send his way that cut through his back and side, then another across his legs and another, and another. In between torture he could feel blood flowing from his entire body, but it didn't register anymore.

Somewhere very far away someone was screaming. The thought that they must be in pain suddenly sprung up in his mind. But he couldn't help them, not anymore.

The curses had stopped somehow and even though the pain hadn't, some things started getting through to him. He could hear something now that the screaming had stopped. A popping sound. 

Apparating. There were people apparating into the town. Help had come at last.

But just before the aurors reached the group of deatheaters and their only victim left alive, one of masked man fired a last severing charm.

At Harry's neck.

His head rolled right in front of Albus Dumbledore's feet and the deatheaters apparated away from the destroyed village.

Harry Potter was no more and the last thing he ever saw was the severed head of his date and crush lying in front of him, staring at him with death eyes.

Happy Valentine.

End Part 14.

It started a lot fluffier. *cough* ..I mean more romantic than I had expected, but I hope I made up for it later in the story. More than 900 words on the romance and about 1050 on the action and torture, that should about cover it. 

My wonderful reviewers: 

Miss-Aurelia: Thanks a lot, I hope you forced them into reviewing now, but I'm afraid that's just wishful thinking. Oh well, at least my others fics are doing great in the review business. Thanks for the tip about the mirror by the way, I forgot to mention it, but I've corrected it now. And yes, here's the valentine chapter. It's more angsty, violent and dark than my last chapters, so I hope you like it. 

**Who wants to know?**: Who gave a small review in the review for Reality, thanks for both.

**Sinilu Silverspell**: Yep, you definitely earned your lollipop. As for how I came up with this idea, I'm just weird that way. **:p **I love Harry very much, he's my favourite character and that's why he's the main focus for these stories, but I just needed to vent some aggression I think. **:)**

You people better review or I'll send Aurelia after you and she's dangerous, I should know. **:) **After all, she forced me into updating more than once. ^_^


	15. Imperio!

_Disclaimer:_ Duh 

_A/N: _So... you people want angst and gore huh? Well then, you'll get it. Be prepared!

At Death's Door 

Part 15: Imperio!

Rated: R

Warning: Extreme gore

"Imperio!" Voldemort yelled in anger and the curse hit Harry dead on, he had no way of getting out of the way.

_'Pick up the knife.'_ A pleasant daze came over him, like he was floating on the air as light as a feather. He felt no more pain from the torture he had undergone and no more worries for his friends and teachers. He felt his body starting to move towards the large silver dagger. The hypnotizing voice was so very hard to resist and he already was so tired.

_'Pick up the knife and cut her throat.'_

_'No.'_ Came the weak resistance from his own mind. _'Hermione... I won't hurt her.'_

_'Just pick it up.... put your hand on the handle.... hold it against her neck.... and press.'_

_'No.... no.... I won't do it. I swore I would protect her.'_ But as his mind fought, his hand was already reaching.

_'Go on... pick it up...'_

"I WON'T!" As he bellowed out these words, the real world came back to him with all its aches and hurts. He pulled back his hand and scrambled as far away from the gleaming weapon as he possibly could, without going near the deatheaters that surrounded him.

When the curse was lifted and he could think clearly again, he immediately realised his mistake. He should've picked up the dagger, that way he would've at least had some kind of weapon.

Not that it would've been much help, since he was surrounded by deatheaters, who were all carrying wands. His wand had been taken from him the moment he was captured.

The attack had been unexpected, but not unanticipated. Voldemort and his most powerful followers had broken down the wards around and inside the castle, before storming in. At that time the younger students had already been evacuated to the common rooms and the remaining wizards and witches had readied themselves for the coming battle inside the great hall.

Even with the Order of the Phoenix, the teachers and the older students fighting, they hadn't stood a chance against the forces that Voldemort had brought with him to the siege of Hogwarts and now it was all over.

Dumbledore had been killed by Voldemort in the first few minutes of chaos and after that it had taken the deatheaters very little time to kill off the rest of the defending forces.

Half lying on the floor in the great hall, waiting for the Dark Lord's next move, Harry's eyes fell on the body of professor McGonagall. She and several others who he really didn't want to recognise were piled up against the wall behind the Gryffindor table.

He quickly averted his gaze to an unconscious Hermione, who was dumped in front of the teachers' platform on which Voldemort was standing. The only reason she was still alive was that she was his friend. They spared her to torture him. How sickly ironic.

All the other muggleborns were already dead, even the ones who had been inside the common rooms. They had been separated with a simple paternity charm and executed in front of his eyes, one by one. Starting with the terrified first years, just scared little children, and ending with the seventh years who had survived the battle. 

The half- and purebloods had all been spared though, even those from known light families, probably for blackmail and extortion. But Harry knew that everyone who had fought were all dead. Luna, Cho, Neville, Ginny, Ron.... and so many, many more.

The only survivors of the battle were himself and Hermione.... but for how long? 

"Crucio!"

The feeling of white hot knifes slicing through his skin, of fire eating it's way through his guts, a sword cleaving through his skull, was what pulled him out of his musings of death and into a world where only pain existed.

He screamed in agony.

When it finally ended it took him a long while before he could get himself together enough to stand up. His entire body was shaking from the pain curse and it took all his effort to remain standing, but he did.

There had been no talking this time, unlike how it had been at the cemetery in his fourth year, no insults, no giving him his wand to duel, there had only been curses, hexes and pain.

Even now Voldemort said nothing, now that he was a quivering wreck without any hope of retaliating against the powerful dark lord.

"Imperio." 

Again? 

Harry closed his eyes and waited for the dreamlike state and hypnotizing voice to tell him to do unspeakable things, but it never came.

He opened his eyes and saw that Voldemort's wand was pointed, not at him, but at Hermione, who had just woken up and was looking at him in confusion.

He saw her eyes glaze over and the confusion on her face change into a blank mask.

Cold fear gripped his heart and it suddenly became even harder to breath. He knew that very second what was going to happen and he knew he would never seriously hurt her, even if it meant his own life.

Hermione picked up the dagger and started advancing on him rather quickly, blade raised at head height.

Ignoring the pain shooting through his shaking limbs, Harry raised his own hands and stood in a defensive position. But as he focused on the girl in the bloody robes coming towards him, he forgot about the deatheaters behind him. He felt a hard kick against his knees and he buckled over, landing on his hands with a loud crack and he cried out in pain as his wrist broke against the hard stone floor.

The deatheater that had send him to the floor stood over him and kicked his side fiercely, forcing him to roll over onto his back. The masked man walked back into the circle, leaving him lying on the ground.

Harry turned his head and looked straight into Hermione's emotionless face. She was leaning over him, the dagger getting closer and closer to his neck, but he could see her hand wavering. She was fighting the curse, she was resisting. If only she could break it completely.

"Hermione! Wake up. Please it's Harry, please wake up." 

She stopped moving the knife towards him for a second, but then he had to roll out of the way as she slashed at him.

"HERMIONE!" He yelled, his voice braking in pain and fear. 

He was still lying on the ground and he tried to get up, while trying to avoid using his right hand, but he fell back down the second he stopped using his left hand for support. As he landed on his back all the air was pushed out of lungs and he had already been out of breath due to all the exertion and torture. 

Opening his eyes, he hadn't even noticed he closed them, he saw Hermione once again leaning over him, but now he didn't have time to roll away and excruciating pain shot through him as the dagger was driven through his stomach.

He screamed.

Very slowly the blade was pulled down, cutting him open inch by excruciating inch.

Harry was gulping air into his longs, the pain was too much and as he regained some oxygen he screamed again. If magic hadn't prevented it, he would've passed out the second the dagger had been stabbed into him.

Gulp.... scream. Gulp.... scream.

Every breath out was a screech until his voice was gone and all that came out now was a rasping sound and blood.

The dagger went through his skin, muscles, intestines, until she reached his pubis bone and could go no further. Hermione pulled it out, ignoring the river of blood that was soaking her hands and shoes, and immediately stuck it into his side, cutting perpendicular to the last wound, creating a cross on his belly.

Once again she pulled the dagger out and she put it into her left hand.

Her now empty right hand gently caressed the torn and bloody skin, smearing the red liquid all over both of them. Then, suddenly, she pulled back a flap of skin and stuck her hand into the hole.

Harry gasped loudly, nearly choking on his blood. Even through all the pain he could actually feel her hand moving inside of him.

With extremely slow movements she pulled her hand back and as it came out, the pain increased to unimaginable levels and Harry eyes shot open.

Only to see the horrific sight of one of his best friends holding his guts in her hands, blood streaming along the stretched out bowels, back into the cavity. 

Still moving as slow as she possibly could she started pulling and piece by piece his intestines were removed from him. 

He watched the almost unreal sight like one would watch TV, his mind detached with pain, shock and blood loss.

Until, with one last pull, his heart stopped and Harry Potter was no more.

When the curse was lifted Hermione looked at the cut up body of her best friend in petrified shock. She fell onto her knees, still clutching the dagger and vomited on the floor before her as the surrounding deatheaters laughed at her.

Then, without any hesitation, she grabbed the dagger with both blood drenched hands and plunged it into her own stomach.

End Part 15.

Ah, done. Lets see... Do I have everything? Torture... check. Death for angst... check. Gore... check. Angsty gory torture... check. More gore... check. More death... check. Alright it's finished and I'm kinda proud of this one, I think it turned out pretty well, for me that is, certainly not for Harry or Hermione.... ^_^

My wonderful reviewers: 

**Atticus J. Finch**: I'm glad you liked it and I'll keep your preferences in mind. **:)**

**Insanitys Plaything**: Nope, no reason for my brilliance **:p **And Harry's my favourite character too. Many people think I hate him because I kill him, but if he wasn't my favourite, then he wouldn't be the main character in all the stories, now would he? **:)**

**Miss-Aurelia**: Thanks, sorry I made you seem like a bulldog, I do believe you're more of a cat person.... Standing up your date on valentine? Yep, that has to be bad luck, I hope it works out. And yes, I will definitely keep up the gore. **:)**

**Skull Bearer**: Thanks for your wonderful review and I very much enjoyed reading your story. I reviewed it too, so you probably already read that.

**thirteen bells**: Twice even, thanks I'm glad you like it and those are some great ideas, I'll see what I can come up with. (Is a Lamia a vampire ruler, like it is used in other stories, or something else?)

**Who wants to know?**: Sorry to hear about your computer and I really don't want to meet you without you having your dose of coffee. Those red eyes are creepy. **:p **I'm glad you liked the valentine story and I hope you like the future parts even better.

**xMEx**: To be honest, that's the weirdest review I have ever had. I'm sorry, but I feel obligated to say this. I read you were thirteen in your bio and please be careful with what you read. Of course this is completely up to you and I very much appreciate your review, I just needed to get it of my chest since you're a bit young to be reading about torture, death and rape, let alone cutting and suicide. I hope you enjoyed the stories anyway.

**Zuleika**: Thanks, I'm definitely putting these ideas in my files and I'll see what comes out next time. I love the one with Hermione boring him to death, so if I can think of a plotling to go with it, I'll write it, but I already promised Miss-Aurelia that he wouldn't be eaten anymore, so no piranhas. Like you said, so many possibilities. **:)**

Aaahhh, someone save me... I'm going into review withdrawal.... Quickly, push that little button down there to save me.


	16. The Easter Egg Hunt

_Disclaimer:_ Still not mine. 

_A/N:_ Easter special. It's very short, but I hope it gets me out of my writer's block and I just wanted to have something to upload after all this time.

Ps. I started a yahoo group so my readers, that means you, can be notified when I update. This works for all my stories, except for this one. ^_^

Thank you all for reviewing, this includes the reviews for my side step Unforgivable. 

**Atticus J. Finch**: :::Claps you on the back::: Can't have my reviewers chocking, now can I? Glad you liked it and I'll remember you like gore, like most of my reviewers.

**Cicy**: Thanks a lot and yes, I'm pretty proud of this one.

**I can see Thestrals**: Nightmares, huh? Another job well done.... *cough* uhm, I mean, I'm sorry to hear that. Hope you sleep well. By the way, your website link on your profile doesn't work, just thought I'd mention it.

**Jarie1019**: Five reviews, wow, thanks. You certainly got the number up **^_**^ and watch it with the fluff comments.... just kiddin. I'm very glad you liked them all and thanks again.

**Kim13**: :::Takes another Bow::: Thank you very much. But did you like it? Guess so, otherwise you probably wouldn't have reviewed. Oh my God..... I knew I had some optimism hidden somewhere in the light corners of my brain.** :)**

**Limegreenlion**: :::Hands you a plastic bag::: Um, well, sorry about that, but I'm very glad you liked it. ***_***

**Midnight**: Twice even... Thanks. Sorry about your stomach by the way, but that was kinda the point. **:)**

**Miss-Aurelia**: Nope, he didn't get eaten this time. **:) **Most gruesome chapter? I don't know, it's a tie with Skin Demon I think.... **^_**^ And when I say gore, I mean gore, so you should know better than to eat before reading a chapter with that warning.** :p **I'm glad you agree about the 13 year old, of course I want people to read my stuff, but I doubt it's good for him/her to read some of this.

Death eaters will never get me.... They're my friends. **:) **j/k, I wanted to work on Rifts, but somehow the chapter wouldn't come out and I had to kill this LotR-crossover-plotbunny before I could continue. I wrote the last chapter of ADD mostly against writers block, but I'm still very glad you liked it. And is it just me, or are my review responses getting longer and longer? Oh well....** :)**

**Shadafakup**: Thanks and did you just say you wanted me to elaborate... ? More gore? I already have complaints about queasy stomachs and such, but I'll see what I can do.... **:)**

**Skull Bearer**: :::Bows::: Thank you, thank you.... All hail the dark order. By the way, I love your bio.

**Who wants to know?**: MY HERO :::Claps hand in front of her nose::: But you'd better stay away from my brain or I will never write again. **^_**^ My own opinion of Hermione is subject to change, which definitely shows in my fics. In Rifts she's a meddlesome brat, in Reality she's a bit of a rebel and in Core of Power she's just a sweet girl. But I can sympathise, Hermione is very easy to hate. **:) **At least she died this time, heh? 

At Death's Door 

Part 16: The Easter Egg Hunt

Rated: PG13

Warning: Killer eggs, corny jokes and of course some gore.

"Dammit, where are those things?" Harry mumbled to himself as he lifted another chair in the old abandoned classroom and looked beneath it, only to find nothing once again. He put back the chair and continued looking, it was very important he'd find what he was looking for.

Eggs.

It was the annual Easter egg hunt, courtesy of headmaster Dumbledore of course, and the person who found the most eggs would win a year's supply of lemondrops. They weren't allowed to use magic for it, as not to give the older students an advantage, and eggs of all sizes were hidden all over the school grounds, from the quidditch pitch to the top of the astronomy tower.

It wasn't that actually wanted the candy, but he really wanted to beat Malfoy so he could wipe that smug look of that ferret's face. The Slytherin had been taunting him before the hunt started, saying that with his eyes he wouldn't be able to find a dragon's egg, let alone a small chocolate egg.

So far Malfoy had been right, he hadn't found one egg, of any size, and he was getting desperate. He was the only one to go looking in this remote part of the castle and now he was doubting his decision. He had thought that there would probably be eggs hidden in every room in the castle and if he went where others didn't he'd be the one to find the most eggs. Guess he was wrong.

Suddenly he heard a voice, or at least he thought he did, but it was gone before he could determine the origin. Maybe another student past the room? He ignored it and continued looking under the desks, slowly making his way to the back of the room.

Again he heard the voice, this time clearer. He was sure he heard the word 'eggs', but again he didn't see anyone in the room. He stepped outside and looked both ways down the hall, but there was no one there.

"Great, this egg hunt must be getting to my head." He murmured as he walked back to desks he hadn't searched yet.

As he reached the last row of desks he heard the voice again, but it was back to being unintelligible. He automatically looked up again, even though he was sure there wouldn't be anything there.

But there it was, he could see a shadow swiftly moving across the ground. He immediately jumped after it, past the desks and chairs, but when he reached the back of the classroom he only found two broken chairs and a cold fireplace filled with ashes.

The shadow had been too small for a human and that voice.... A snake, of course, it had to be. But where had it gone?

He tried to call it, but since he couldn't actually tell if he was speaking parseltongue and in the past he had only been able to do when he actually saw a snake, he decided to give up and go back to searching for eggs instead of snakes. He might just run into it again anyway.

The only place he hadn't searched in this room was the last row, so he turned back to the desk closest to him and ducked to look under it, pushing the chair out of his line of vision.

There! That was certainly egg shaped, maybe his luck was finally turning? He got on hands and knees and crawled under the desk. He had seen the reddish shapes all the way in the back.

He reached for them with his right hand and just as he was about to grab them, one of them exploded. The heat was unbearable, it burned his hand, his arm and his eyes. The only thing he saw was a red flash and then there was only darkness. Darkness and heat.

He stumbled backwards in shock, but he hit his head against the desktop, hard. As the pain flared in his skull, something else exploded. This time the heat came from his left side and he was flung against the right side of the desk, jarring his shoulder and making him cry out in pain.

The cry quickly turned into screaming as the heat and brilliant pain travelled across his legs and further up with amazing speed. 

The high pitched shriek of utter pain was only silenced with a final explosion of heat when the last eggs ignited together.

Harry Potter was no more, but neither were the freshly laid Ashwinder eggs that he had found.

It was a third year Hufflepuff who found the still smoking corpse buried beneath burned and blackened pieces of desk and chair and as she ran to get a teacher she squished the last chocolate egg, ending the egg hunt. She found her way to the great hall, crying and mumbling about roasted saviours, just as Draco Malfoy was declared the winner and Dumbledore was handing the Slytherin a gigantic sac of egg shaped lemondrops.

At the eulogy no one had the heart to laugh when the headmaster began talking about Harry's eggciting and eggtraordinary life.

End part 16.

Ooh, bad, corny jokes. ^_^

There's a description and drawing of the Ashwinder and it's eggs in the bestiary of the Harry Potter lexicon.

Please tell me what you think, reviews are important to keep me writing, even if you want me to continue another one of my stories.


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